GUARDIAN North Dakota
May 2016
Volume 9, Issue 3
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS N.D. Guardsmen Sweep Winston P. Wilson Championship PG. 8
Inside This Issue Features
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Maintaining Partnerships
The N.D. National Guard, through its State Partnership Program, along with U.S. Africa Command last month assisted with the delivery of more than $7,300 in medical supplies to the Ghanaian National Ambulance Service.
Commander in Chief North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple The Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Alan S. Dohrmann Chief of Public Affairs Capt. Amber Balken Editor 2nd Lt. Jennifer Joyce
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Hot Shots
Five N.D. Guardsmen now will have the skills and training to assist the North Dakota Forest Service while responding to wildfire incidents within the state. The group were the first Guardsmen to become certified through a North Dakota Forest Service training course, which was held March 17-20 in Bismarck.
Guardian
12 Spotlight
A look back to May 11, 1950, when Capt. R. Marshall Johnson, of the N.D. Air National Guard’s 178th Fighter Squadron, bailed out of his P-51 Mustang from an altitude of 5,500 feet, about a mile north of Hector airport. He was forced to parachute to safety when his landing gear failed to lower properly.
Departments Guardian Snapshots ..................... Page 16 News Briefs ..................................... Page 18 Sound Off! ..................................... Page 19
Contributors Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Corey Bjertness Senior Master Sgt. David Lipp Staff Sgt. Eric W. Jensen Staff Sgt. Brett Miller Tech. Sgt. Bradly Schneider Sgt. Erin Walters Spc. Kristin Berg Spc. Brandi Schmidt Airman 1st Class Jacob Oliversen The North Dakota Guardian is an authorized publication for members, families and retirees of the N.D. National Guard. • Contents of the North Dakota Guardian are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, or the Department of the Army or Air Force. • Editorial content of this publication is the responsibility of the Joint Force Headquarters, N.D. National Guard ( JFND) Public Affairs Officer. • Printed by United Printing, a private firm in no way connected to the U.S. Government under exclusive written contract with the JFND. Reproduction is by the offset method with a circulation of approximately 4,900. • The North Dakota Guardian is published by the JFND Public Information Office, Box 5511, Bismarck, N.D. 58506-5511, 701.333.2007
ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS
Contributions to the North Dakota Guardian are encouraged! Send articles, photos and art to Editor, JFND PIO, Box 5511, Bismarck, N.D. 58506-5511. Electronic submissions are preferred. Please e-mail stories in Word format to: jennifer.m.joyce2.mil@mail.mil Phone: 701-333-2195 Fax: 701-333-2017 Digital photos should be 300 dpi, if possible.
On the Cover
Sgt. Evan Messer, of the 817th Engineer Company, shoots a pistol July 12, 2015, at the annual North Dakota National Guard Adjutant General’s Combat Marksmanship Match at Camp Grafton South rifle range near Devils Lake.
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Photo by Senior Master Sgt. David Lipp, 119th Wing
Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, North Dakota adjutant general, joined more than 180 runners from the Bismarck community for the 4th Annual Race to Zero April 9 at Sertoma Park in Bismarck. Race to Zero is intended to raise public awareness about sexual violence and military sexual trauma.
VIEW FROM THE TOP
Photo by Staff Sgt. Brett Miller, Joint Force Headquarters
lead by example
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Is readiness the most important, or is taking care of our people the most important? The answer is: yes. The fact is we will never reach our endstrength or readiness goals if we don’t take care of our Soldiers, Airmen and their families. Building wellness and resiliency in the entire Guard family, which includes our survivors and retirees, will help us reach our retention goals and build a team that others will want to be a part of. Our mission is “providing ready units, individuals and equipment to support our communities, state and nation.” To state the obvious, we must recruit, and just as important, retain the Soldiers and Airmen that have been entrusted to us to accomplish our mission. To retain, we must know our people and provide them the training and opportunities that will allow them to reach their potential. There is a difference between “saying” that taking care of our Solders, Airmen, civilian employees and families is important and “showing” it in tangible ways. We can talk about caring and servant leadership all day, but if we don’t demonstrate our commitment with our time and resources, it will be a talking point rather than part of our culture. Recently, we have shown our commitment to our members’ well-being, health and resiliency in a number of ways. In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, we cosponsored the 4th Annual Race to Zero
to raise awareness about the detrimental impact sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence have on our communities and our workplaces. This race has grown every year thanks to the hard work of our sexual assault response coordinator, Ms. Heather Mattson, our community partners, Bismarck State College and the Council on Abused Women’s Services (CAWS), and a team of Guard volunteers that show their support by working and volunteering countless hours to bring awareness of this destructive behavior within our society and organization. In addition to the National Guard members that worked the event, I was pleased that so many of our members showed their support by participating in either the 5K walk or the 5K and 10K run. The Army National Guard showed their support to fitness by initiating a monthly 5K fun run/walk. Thanks to the initiative of Capt. Nicolette Daschendorf, the first event exceeded expectations with more than 40 participants. This is part of a commander’s fitness program and a great way to build comradery and strengthen the team. Let me know if you have a similar event I would love to get out and run with Soldiers and Airmen around the state. Another way we are showing our support is with this year’s Wellness Camp. The Soldiers selected to attend have the potential to hold positions of greater responsibility, but may need some additional health and fitness tools to reach
their full potential in our organization. I plan to be at the Camp’s culminating fitness test to show my support. Finally, we need to check in with one another and make sure no one is falling behind. I review every misconduct case and every case where our members are contemplating suicide. More than ever before, our Soldiers and Airmen are intervening before something bad happens. We cannot be bystanders and, through intervention, we show our commitment to one another and our component’s values. But it takes more than intervention. For those that are struggling, please take advantage of the programs and support available to you. Whether it is depression, post-traumatic stress, alcohol abuse or relationship problems, we have the dedicated professionals and services in place to help you get back on a positive track. I ask each of you to continue to lookout for your wingman, battle buddy and family, and continue to build resiliency in yourself, your family and our organization. This will ensure we are ready when called by our communities, state and nation. I’m proud to serve alongside each of you. Thank you for your service.
Maj. Gen. Alan S. Dohrmann
North Dakota Adjutant General www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil · 3
North Dakota Soldiers Gain Fire-Fighting Certification through Restructured ‘Red Card’ Training Story and photos by Spc. Brandi Schmidt, 116th Public Affairs Detachment
Spc. Devin Deile, left, of Detachment 1, 815th Engineer Company, and Spc. Levi Jesz, of the 957th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge) race March 20 to finish a 3-mile road march while wearing 45-pound vests during Red Card training in Bismarck.
Five North Dakota Army National Guard Soldiers now will have the skills and training to assist the North Dakota Forest Service while responding to wildfire incidents within the state. The group, who will participate as volunteer members of five 2-man ground fire suppression teams, were the first Guardsmen to become certified through a North Dakota Forest Service training course, which was held March 17-20 at Raymond J. Bohn Armory in Bismarck. Commonly known as Red Card holders’ training, this year’s certification program was restructured to enhance the National Guard’s fire-fighting response capabilities, including using Humvees outfitted with 200-gallon water pump units. The new equipment was fielded by the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services after the N.D. Forest Service identified new ways in which their Guard partners could assist the agency following a frantic, busy fire season in 2015. In past years, Soldiers and Airmen who certified as Red Card holders have operated in squads using hand tools to clear vegetation for fire suppression. They now will focus on engine operations by using the pump systems in their military vehicles. “The Forest Service saw the value and wanted a Humvee-type vehicle that could help them get to smaller fire pockets where the terrain is restrictive and harder to traverse,” said Lt. Col. Robert Fugere, deputy operations officer for the N.D. National Guard’s
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domestic operations section. “Our ground fire suppression teams will always deploy with a Forest Service Team, so they’re not just on their own. They will be there to augment and assist the Forest Service in any way they can.” Before rushing to the fire, though, Guardsmen participating in the program are required to attend the 4-day Red Card holder course led by N.D. Forest Service instructors. The participants’ training hours are allocated between both the classroom and handson exercises. During the March course, the five North Dakota Soldiers learned fire suppression tactics, weather effects and fire behavior, how to build a fire shelter and some basic terminology. “It’s a basic wildland fire suppression class. It covers everything you need to be a wildland fire fighter at the entry level,” said Ryan Melin, N.D. Forest Service fire manager. “It’s similar to a Soldier coming out of Basic Combat Training — you build a foundation of knowledge and move your career and experiences from there.” Part of the training also incorporated a “work capacity test,” which is used to assess participants’ physical capabilities. Attendees must meet the course’s fitness requirements to qualify as a Red Card holder. That testing, presented on the final day of the course, challenged the Soldiers to complete a 3-mile road march in 45 minutes while carry 45 pounds of gear. “Being a fire fighter, in some regards, is a lot like being a Soldier,” Melin said. “You’re tasked to work long hours in adverse conditions.
It’s a real dynamic environment, so being physically fit not only allows you to deal with the stressors that the job puts on you, but also the physical ability to go out and work for 16-20 hours, while doing hard manual labor in the smoke and in the heat.” Once the National Guard’s ground fire suppression teams are fully trained, certified and assembled, Fugere said they will provide welcomed assistance to the Forest Service by allowing the agency’s firefighters to recuperate during potentially lengthy wildfire operations. Those crews will have the ability to rotate out of a fire fight to get some rest while being backfilled by Red Card-trained Guardsmen. And even if this spring and summer see minimal fire activity, the certified Soldiers and Airmen still will remain gainfully employed. “Because part of the Red Card holders’ training requires sustainment training, there may be opportunities to assist the Forest Service in additional capacities,” Fugere said. “There are times when the Forest Service does controlled burns, which also would be a great opportunity to use the Guard’s ground fire suppression teams.” Melin believes the partnership between the N.D. National Guard and the N.D. Forest Service is mutually beneficial. Since the National Guard is the first military responder in a domestic emergency, he said building response capacities between the two agencies will be useful in providing
local communities assistance during wildfire incidents. “The Forest Service not only is a state response agency. When conditions allow us, we do travel nationally,” Melin said. “There are times where everything is calm within North Dakota, and then another state will call for help. It’s big for my agency and the state to have that firefighter personnel depth in our capacity. So, even if we do send some people out, we still have enough to respond locally. It’s just making sure that we have the capacity to cover everything that Mother Nature is going to throw at us.” Both Fugere and Melin expect about 20
Soldiers and Airmen to be trained as Red Card holders this year. A future training course will be offered later this summer. While Red Card holders have not previously responded, the N.D. National Guard long has assisted state agencies in containing a number of wildfire incidents, both in North Dakota and other states. Most recently, in April 2015, N.D. Army National Guard aviators operating Black Hawk helicopters dropped about 122,000 gallons of water to battle a wildfire in south Burleigh County. While the blaze swallowed up about 2,000 acres of land, no homes, structures or life was lost to the fire.
Above, Staff Sgt. Christopher Hoff, of Joint Force Headquarters, and Sgt. Daniel Kusler, of the 957th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge), receive a briefing March 20 before completing a simulated livefire exercise. Below, instructors with the North Dakota Forest Service trained five N.D. Army National Guard Soldiers March 17-20 during their Wildland Fire Suppression Team Certification in Bismarck. As a result of the training, each Soldier is certified to respond to wildland fires throughout the state.
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strengthening communitites N.D. Guard, U.S. Africa Command Furnish Needed Medical Supplies for Ghanaian National Ambulance Service By Staff Sgt. Eric W. Jensen, Joint Force Headquarters The North Dakota National Guard, through its State Partnership Program (SPP), along with U.S. Africa Command in April assisted with the delivery of more than $7,300 in medical supplies to the Ghanaian National Ambulance Service. The excess supplies were procured through Operation United Assistance, a U.S. Department of Defense response mechanism designed to provide the coordination of logistics, training and engineering support to the U.S. Agency for International Development in West Africa to help contain the spread of Ebola virus. The N.D. National Guard, as well as the North Dakota Department of Health, recently have furthered the state’s partnership with Ghana by assisting the West African nation with strengthening its emergency management services (EMS). These efforts began in 2010 when North Dakota’s state agencies supported missions to assess and identify the capabilities of the Ghanaian National Ambulance Service. “The National Ambulance Service is one of North Dakota’s best examples of bilateral efforts and shared experiences in Ghana,” said Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, North Dakota adjutant general. “One of our goals is to continue to expand our partnership with Ghana through additional participation and involvement from civilian agencies and organizations throughout the state of North Dakota.” The Ghanaian National Ambulance
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Service was formed in 2004, with seven ambulance stations and less than 60 staff members. Today, there are 130 stations in 10 regions across Ghana, with nearly 1,700 personnel on staff. “The outstanding partnership between the N.D. National Guard, the North Dakota Department of Health and the National Ambulance Service of Ghana allowed us the perfect avenue to donate the extra medical supplies,” said Maj. Mark McEvers, bilateral affairs officer for the N.D. National Guard, who supports SPP efforts while residing in Ghana. “The National Ambulance Service is always very grateful for this enduring partnership and any assets we can provide.” To bolster Ghana’s emergency management services efforts, North Dakota’s state agency representatives have led a handful of training courses over the years during visits to Africa. Most recently, in January, a five-person SPP team, which included members of the N.D. National Guard and North Dakota Department of Health, led conversations over a two-week period with Ghanaian emergency medical technician (EMT) station managers, administrators and dispatchers about a range of topics, including ambulance operations, professional licensure, leadership principals, infection control, public relations and protocol. Additionally, North Dakota recently was able to facilitate advanced paramedic training in Fargo for a visiting Ghanaian
EMT through Sanford Health’s EMS Education department. The student, who is staying with a host family during the paramedic course, will return to Ghana with the training and provide advanced life support education to his counterparts upon his return. The initiative was developed through the North Dakota Department of Health with support from Sanford Health. Dr. Jeffery Sather, North Dakota Department of Health medical director for emergency medical services, was one of the SPP team members who traveled to Ghana in January. He said the Ghanaian National Ambulance Service and the country’s emergency management services continue to make strides, though there is still room for growth, which can be implemented over time with help from SPP representatives. “There are things that we take for granted in the U.S. that aren’t the norm in other countries,” he said. “As we train the EMTs and ambulance service, we must be aware that they could progress very quickly and outpace the hospitals in the area. Moving forward, that might be an area the National Guard and the partnership program can look at — the integration of the emergency care system.” Later this year, North Dakota’s SPP is planning three additional visits to further work with Ghana’s emergency management and EMS personnel. Soldiers and Airmen from the N.D. National Guard also continue to build
relationships and share expertise with their counterparts in the Ghanaian Armed Forces through partnership exchanges. The cross-training runs across a spectrum of military specialties and fields, including combat medical training, combat engineering, public affairs, chaplain services, disaster response, military police procedures, family programs and Air Force maintenance and operations. The SPP between North Dakota and Ghana began in 2004. The purpose of the
program is to foster mutual interests and establish habitual long-term relationships across all levels of society. The program as a whole encourages the development of economic, political and military ties between the states and partner nations. Over the last ten years, North Dakota’s and Ghana’s partnership has grown from military-to-military engagements and missions with members and units of the N.D. National Guard to now including civilian-to-civilian and business-tobusiness partnerships.
In February 2014, North Dakota broadened its participation in the SPP by entering into new partnerships with the West African countries Republic of Benin and the Togolese Republic. North Dakota’s partnerships with Ghana, Benin and Togo represent the formalization of a regional SPP relationship, which is a cost-effective approach to strengthening the cooperation, communication and interoperability of neighboring countries in a manner that benefits U.S. national interests.
Courtesty photo Maj. Mark McEvers, bilateral affairs officer for the North Dakota National Guard, center, assists with the delivery of $7,300 in medical supplies to representatives of the Ghanaian National Ambulance Service located at the 37th Military Hospital and Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Accra, Ghana. The excess supplies were procured through Operation United Assistance, a U.S. Department of Defense response mechanism designed to provide the coordination of logistics, training and engineering support to the U.S. Agency for International Development in West Africa.
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North Dakota Marksmen Take Top Honors at National Shooting Competition By Staff Sgt. Eric W. Jensen, Joint Force Headquarters
Photo courtesy of the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center Members of the North Dakota National Guard’s “A” and “B” Marksmanship Teams display their individual and team awards earned during the Winston P. Wilson Championship, which took place April 24-28 at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas. From left to right, they are Sgt. Joshua Bucklin, Lt. Col. Benjamin Cleghorn, Sgt. Andrew Maley, Staff Sgt. Jason Dittus, Sgt. Tyler Goldade, Sgt. Evan Messer, Spc. Bryce Solie and Capt. Aaron Robinson.
A team of North Dakota shooters were recognized as the best in the National Guard after picking apart targets with pistols, rifles and shotguns during the 45th Annual Winston P. Wilson (WPW) Championship. The four Soldiers, as well as marksmen from both the North Dakota Army and Air National Guard, secured wins in a number of shooting matches while competing against more than 500 contenders from National Guard units nationwide April 24-28 at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas. When the results were tallied on the final day of competition, North Dakota’s “A” team was named the Overall Aggregate Champions in team competition. The team members are Sgt. Tyler Goldade, of Jamestown, North Dakota, a member of the 815th Engineer Company (Horizontal), based in Edgeley, North Dakota; Sgt. Evan Messer, of Mandan, North Dakota, a member of the 817th Engineer Company (Sapper), based in Jamestown, North Dakota; Spc. Bryce Solie, of Fertile Minnesota, also a member of the 817th; and Staff Sgt. Jason Dittus, of Bismarck, North Dakota, a member of the 818th Engineer Company (Sapper), based in Williston, North Dakota. “This is a tremendous achievement for our Air and Army Guardsmen and the North Dakota National Guard’s Marksmanship 8 · Guardian · may 2016
Program,” said Maj. Gen. Alan S. Dohrmann, North Dakota adjutant general. “Marksmanship is a core discipline and skill we all must practice and demonstrate proficiency in as military members. Having our Soldiers and Airmen recognized as some of the best shooters in the nation verifies our organization’s readiness. Our competitors are invaluable assets within our units, since they’re able to provide mentoring and training to their battle buddies and wingmen in weapons knowledge and shooting fundamentals.” The “A” team picked up additional wins in team competition, earning first place in the “Combat Rifle Team” match, in which they received the coveted Gen. Franklin J. Grass Trophy. They also took first place in the “National Guard Infantry Team” match and third place in both the “Know Your Limits” match and “Combined Army Enemy Barricade” match. “Winning the Winston P. Wilson match was the equivalent of a professional football team winning the Super Bowl. It is the largest competitive marksmanship competition there is in the military. It was a personal victory for myself, as well as my team,” Messer said. “Lots of hard work and preparation was part of the whole competition process, which led us to our victory. North Dakota has been competing in the
Winston P. Wilson match for a number of years and never has had a first place overall finish. We made history. All I can say is that I am very grateful for having been part of it.” Additionally, a “B” Team comprised of Sgt. Joshua Bucklin, of Hazelton, North Dakota, a member of the 815th; Lt. Col. Benjamin Cleghorn, of Jamestown, a member of the 1st Battalion, 188th Regiment Air Defense Artillery, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota; Sgt. Andrew Maley, of Enderlin, North Dakota, a member of the 817th; and Capt. Aaron Robinson, of Andover, Minnesota, a member of the 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, based in Fargo, took second place in the “Know Your Limits” match A third team, comprised of North Dakota Airmen from the Fargobased 119th Wing, also took part in the competition and helped mentor North Dakota’s shooters. The team members are Senior Master Sgt. Brian Rook, Senior Master Sgt. Wade Swenson, Tech. Sgt. Joshua Von Bank, Tech Sgt. Charles Welle and 1st Lt. Dawn Erdmann. “I am proud of the Soldiers of North Dakota’s ‘A’ team for what they have accomplished. It is an extremely difficult championship to win and it was one of the biggest Winston P. Wilson Championships in a long time,” Von Bank said. “The communication and coordination during matches, the physical and mental resiliency and the comradery in how they approached all challenges is a testament to personal character and Soldier skills.” Hosted by nearly 200 support staff from the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center (NGMTC), the competition included 96 shooting teams from 49 states and territories and incorporated 17 different shooting matches. The WPW event is designed to promote marksmanship training and offer National Guardsmen an opportunity to test their skills and weapon systems in a battlefocused environment, according to the NGMTC. It also encourages the mentorship and marksmanship development of novice service members new to competition.
“The WPW matches test the full range of shooting skills, from exquisitely precise long range shots that demand discipline and patience to rapid reaction engagements at close range that demand quick, decisive action,” said Col. Dennis J. Humphrey, WPW match director and National Guard Marksmanship Training Center commander. “This is not a competition for specialists in a single event. The teams that compete and hope to win here must excel from one end of that spectrum to the other.” A number of North Dakota marksmen proved themselves as expert shooters during individual competition, as well. Goldade took third place in the “Special Zero” match and earned the Chief of the National Guard Bureau’s “Chief ’s 50” Badge in the rifle category. Messer and Solie also received the award in the rifle category, which is presented to the top 30 individual rifle competitors and top 20 individual pistol competitors at the WPW event, using a combined aggregate score from the shooters’ respective marksmanship matches. Messer also was selected as a member of the “All Guard” team, which is comprised of the top National Guard marksmen in the country. The team later will compete at a shooting event in Bisely, England, in June. The competition cycle for the N.D. National Guard’s marksmen will reset this summer when shooters will vie to qualify for regional competition during the annual Adjutant General’s Combat Marksmanship Match at the Camp Grafton Training Center rifle range near Devils Lake, North Dakota. “The North Dakota Marksmanship Program has made it a goal to win a national championship at WPW. We have achieved that goal. Our shooting team members worked together and put in the time and energy to be the top shooters in the National Guard,” said Maj. Donavan Blazek, North Dakota’s state marksmanship coordinator. “I am proud of how well the team has supported each other and look forward to start building next year’s team at the Adjutant General’s Match in July. Our next goal is to achieve a second national championship.”
Photo by Senior Master Sgt. David Lipp, 119th Wing
Sgt. Tyler Goldade, of the 815th Engineer Company, shoots a pistol with his non-dominant handl at the N.D. National Guard Adjutant General’s Combat Marksmanship Match July 12, 2015, at Camp Grafton South rifle range near Devils Lake. www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil · 9
119th Wing Increases
TRAFFIC SECURITY By Senior Master Sgt. David Lipp, 119th Wing On-base traffic law enforcement at the North Dakota Air National Guard installation in Fargo will gradually be increasing. Throughout the Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, security forces squadrons will start issuing more traffic tickets in order to enforce on-base rules. This practice is part of their core competencies. Air Force Instruction 31-116 requires security forces personnel to be trained and proficient in their core competencies, including traffic enforcement. Security forces personnel cannot perform traffic law enforcement while deployed if they have not been fully trained and shown proficiency. In order to demonstrate proficiency, some DD 1408 traffic tickets must be issued. Traffic laws on base are, and always have been, the same as state and city laws, and the laws always have been enforced. The only difference is that now DD 1408 tickets will be issued if traffic laws are broken. A DD 1408 that is issued on base will not have an effect on your civilian driver’s license, nor will your insurance be contacted. It will, however, affect your military driver’s license. Upon receiving a DD 1408, points will be applied against your military driver’s license, and personnel can lose their onbase driving privileges. Tickets will be given to squadron level commanders, and it will be the commander’s discretion to
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determine disciplinary action. Common traffic infractions are cell phone use while driving, failure to use a seatbelt, failure to stop at a stop sign and speeding. Radar guns will be used to determine speeding violations. Personnel are being reminded to follow on-base motorcycle safety rules, as tickets will be issued for those violations, as well. Motorcycle riders are required to wear helmets while riding on base, they must wear some reflective material, and they must have taken either the basic or the expert Motorcycle Riders Course and carry the corresponding card. The reflective vests are unit-funded and can be obtained through squadron motorcycle safety representatives. Motorcycle safety questions can be directed to those same representatives, or by contacting Master Sgt. Joe Fluge, in the 119th Wing Safety Office, at 701451-2520. Security forces will continue to call the Fargo Police Department for on-base sobriety tests for any suspected DUIs, as they have in the past, and it will be their discretion to arrest or not. Warnings will be given through September 2016 to get people accustomed to the new policy, but tickets will be issued for any infractions thereafter. While the rules have not changed, the ticketing procedures are new. If you drive according to the laws and on-base rules, you won’t notice the difference.
INSPIRED HEALING
Veterans Share Mental Scars of War through Art By Spc. Kristin Berg, 116th Public Affairs Detachment A homeless and emotionally-afflicted veteran sought out wellness services in Fargo, but after eight months, his interaction and communication with his case manager, Ellen McKinnon, remained minimal, much to her dismay. Breaking through to this homeless veteran seemed impossible to her. But one day, McKinnon, who works for Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) for the North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs, left a drawing pad and colored pencils for the man. Something clicked, and the veteran scratched out a crude picture. A single drawing started the healing process for the veteran, and it was the catalyst for what has become a homeless veterans’ art exhibit featuring more than 100 pieces. A showing of the art exhibit recently took place at the West Fargo Veterans of Foreign Wars. The exhibit gave viewers an opportunity to see how veterans are creatively expressing themselves. Staff Sgt. Daniel Schmidtke, an instructor for the North Dakota National Guard’s Regional Training Institute near Devils Lake, North Dakota, said the exhibit provides a unique and muchneeded outlet for veterans. “Most of this artwork is done by the homeless vets; they are often (afflicted) with post-traumatic stress disorder issues,” said Schmidtke, who also is a member of the art exhibit’s sponsor, the Spirit Lake Riders Motorcycle Club. Art can be a release for veterans who suffer from a number of conditions — most commonly, PTSD, which was often misdiagnosed and untreated following the Vietnam War.
The pieces that make up the exhibit seem to offer a window into the minds of the struggling vets. “I think the biggest thing I always get from this display is that so much can be said with absolutely no words,” McKinnon said. “The most important thing is to be able to have the veteran become expressive on what they’re feeling, because if they can’t get past that barrier, they can’t get any further.” Among many other means of support, the SSVF provides homeless veterans with donated art supplies to express themselves and give them a chance to heal. Veterans frequently complete 10 or more pieces of art, only to burn them. McKinnon said even if SSVF doesn’t receive a final product, it’s still an important process of healing and letting go. “The exhibit is important to veterans because many of them feel like they are alone and isolated and that no one cares,” she said. “The art gives them a way to express their hurt, loss, grief, anger, guilt, pride and more. It gives them a safe way to tell a piece of their story. It gives them a place to start healing.” “Being a veteran, I could relate to a lot of the artwork and understand most of it,” Schmidtke said. “But some of it really made me step back and say, ‘Wow. What did you go through?’” The images can be upsetting because they are inspired by war. The first pieces from a veteran tend to be stark backgrounds with dark images. The art reveals parts of history that are not talked about often. Through art, veterans are able to share
their most dreaded thoughts, nightmares, fears, and their honor. As the art theory heals a veteran, the pieces tend to have more color, and some abandon the war theme altogether. Non-war pieces are usually peaceful and contain images of nature. “People attending the exhibit have gotten mad, angry,” McKinnon said. “They’ve cried so much that we now put Kleenex out among the pieces. We’ve had people leave, we’ve had people try and go in six or seven times … it’s really nothing you can explain, you just have to see what it is.” The traveling art exhibit is unlike any other art show because it’s exclusively made up of pieces by homeless veterans (or veterans that have been homeless) in North Dakota. The art is from veterans who have served at various times, from Korean War-era to the more recent Global War on Terrorism. “Each exhibit brings new insight from the local veterans attending the art show,” McKinnon said. “There are many things in the pictures that are recognized by those who were there and experienced these things first hand. I think people come expecting to see a kind of history of war, but what they really get is the raw truth from someone who was there. They see a freeze frame of the veteran’s memory at a certain point in time.” Most of the pieces in the exhibit are paintings and drawings, but sculpture and poetry pieces also are included. The exhibit was established four years ago and has been displayed in West Fargo and Pekin, North Dakota, and Steven, Minnesota.
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GUARDIAN SPOTLIGHT this month in history:
Airmen Jumps to Safety, Avoids Crash Landing By Senior Master Sgt. David Lipp, 119th Wing (with reference to Fargo Forum Vol 42, no. 278)
Capt. R. Marshall Johnson On May 11, 1950, Capt. R. Marshall Johnson, of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 178th Fighter Squadron, bailed out of his P-51 Mustang from an altitude of 5,500 feet, about a mile north of Hector airport. He was forced to parachute to safety when his landing gear failed to lower properly. He spent an hour trying to “shake” it loose, and once tried to jar it loose by “bouncing one wheel on a runway at 130 miles an hour.” Johnson was in radio contact with the airport tower and the 178th Fighter Squadron headquarters while he decided what he should do. He was told he should use his “own judgment.” “I had about made up my mind to try the landing,” Johnson was quoted as saying by the Fargo Forum. “My brother talked to me and urged me to bail out instead, so I guess he helped me to decide.” Johnson’s airplane began to run low on
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fuel, so he climbed to the 5,500 feet, slowed the speed and crawled out on the wing and jumped. “Hundreds” of spectators had heard about the in-flight emergency and had gathered on the ground to watch, as Johnson pulled the ripcord and drifted safely to the ground. The “airplane ‘stalled out,’ turned over on its’ back, then nosed straight down and with a roar hit a country road alongside a waterfilled ditch, sending a huge blast of dirt and wreckage flying.” Johnson owed a debt of gratitude to Sgt. Arthur Breyer, who packed the parachute used that day. It was the second time in a year that Johnson escaped serious injury, as he had crash-landed a P-51 the previous June while the N.D. Air National Guard was doing their two weeks of ‘summer camp’ at Casper, Wyoming. Johnson went on to become the fourth commander of the 178th Fighter Squadron from Jan. 3, 1951 to Dec. 31, 1956, and then became the second 119th Fighter Group commander from Jan. 1, 1957 to Feb. 25, 1968.
Bring a FRIEND into the
Criteria:
• Soldier or Airmen brings a prospective recruit to a training event or their local recruiting office. • All traditional Guardsmen, Active Guard Reserve and Technicians are eligible (Recruiting and Retention Battalion personnel are excluded). • Members can receive multiple bonuses for multiple enlistments.
Contact your local recruiter for more information or to set up an appointment.
Commissary Sales!
North Dakota National Guard and receive $1,000 after they enlist.
Save money on meat, milk and other grocery items during an upcoming commissary sale! The Grand Forks Air Force Base Commissary is making stops throughout North Dakota this summer, giving active-duty personnel, reservists, retirees and their family members an excellent opportunity to scoop up deals on grocery and household items.
Upcoming Sales Fargo Armed Forces Reserve Center May 21, 2016 Grand Forks Grand Forks Armory Oct. 16, 2016 (meat sale only) Valley City Valley City Armory Sept. 17-18, 2016 Sept. 24-25, 2016 Bismarck Raymond J. Bohn Armory June 11-12, 2016 Sept. 10-11, 2016 Note: A valid military ID is required to purchase commissary items.
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WING Photo by Tech. Sgt. Bradly Schneider, 119th Wing
Tech Sgt. Michelle Grant, a flight security controller with the Minot-based 219th Security Forces Squadron, safely clears her rifle at Minot Air Force Base. Prior to her current position, Grant served in the active-duty Air Force from 2004-2008 as a fire team leader and a response force leader.
Photo by Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp, 119th Wing
Staff Sgt. Taylor McMillan, of the N.D. National Guard’s Fargo-base loader). Born and raised in the Fargo-Moorhead area, McMillan be was the most recent manned aircraft flown by North Dakota Airme
Photo by Tech. Sgt. Bradly Schneider, 119th Wing
Master Sgt. Justin Mattson, who serves as a storeroom manager for the 119th Wing Services Flight, began his Air National Guard career in 2004. Outside of the Guard, Mattson, who was born in Hazen and raised in Mandan, works as an administrative staff officer for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
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Tech Sgt. Jeffrey Arel completes technical work as a full-time cyber Squadron. Arel joined the Air National Guard as an Aircraft Integra F-16 Fighting Falcon, C-21 Lear Jet and MQ-1 aircraft.
@ Work Photo by Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp, 119th Wing
ed 119th Wing, works as an aircraft armament specialist (weapons egan his military career as a crew chief for the C-21 Lear Jet, which en before the last C-21 departed in August 2013.
Photo by Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp, 119th Wing
r transport systems craftsman within the 119th Wing Intelligence ated Avionics Technician in 1998 and has worked in avionics on the
Members of the 219th Security Forces Squadron, from left to right, Airman 1st Class Noelle Kurowski, Staff Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, Senior Airman Jessica George and Staff Sgt. Kally Anderson, of the 119th Medical Group, hurry onto a N.D. Army National Guard UH60 Black Hawk helicopter as they leave Camp Grafton Training Center’s southern training area.
Photo by Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp, 119th Wing
Senior Airman Kally Anderson, medical technician for the 119th Wing Medical Group, performs life-saving compressions on a simulated casualty. Prior to her current position, the Glyndon, Minnesota, native and full-time student, served as a contractor and records technician within the Medical Group.
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GUARDIAN Snapshots
See More, and Download Photos! Visit www.flickr.com/photos/ndguard/.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Brett Miller, Joint Force Headquarters
Capt. Kristi Blair, of the 116th Public Affairs Detachment, helps her daughter, Zoey, string beads for her necklace April 23 during a “Super Heroes and Princesses” youth event hosted by Bismarck Military Service Center staff at the Raymond J. Bohn Armory.
More than 180 runners from the Bismarck community participated in the 4th Annual Race to Zero April 9 at Sertoma Park. The family-friendly event is a collaborative project between Council on Abused Women’s Services (CAWS) North Dakota, the North Dakota National Guard Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program and Bismarck State College. Race to Zero is intended to raise public awareness about sexual violence and military sexual trauma. The month of April nationally is observed as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, which this year had a theme that states “Know your part, do your part.”
Photo by Staff Sgt. Brett Miller, Joint Force Headquarters
The 957th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge) held field training exercises April 23-24 at Kimball Bottoms, south of Bismarck, wher more than 120 Soldiers conducted boating and bridging operations on the
Capt. Callie Stein, of the N.D. National Guard State Medical Detachment, administers a vaccination to Sgt. Lee Renner, of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 285th Aviation Assault Regiment, April 10 during the unit’s Soldier Readiness Process in Bismarck.
Share your photos! Submit your photos to be considered for inclusion in the N.D. Guardian! Email high-resolution photos to 2nd Lt. Jennifer Joyce, N.D. Guardian editor, at jennifer.m.joyce2.mil@mail.mil.
Missouri River. www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil ¡ 17
NewsBriefs North Dakota Guardsmen Recognized for Achievements By Staff Sgt. Eric W. Jensen, Joint Force Headquarters Distinguished members of the North Dakota Army and Air National Guard were honored for their extraordinary achievements this spring. Officers, Soldiers and Airmen who stood out among their colleagues in 2015 were recognized in March during a National Guard Officer and Enlisted Association of North Dakota awards banquet at the Cambria Hotel and Suites in West Fargo. For the N.D. Army National Guard, Maj. Steven Bohl, of Minot, North Dakota, was named as Field-Grade Officer of the Year and Capt. Justin Gall, of Bismarck, was named Company-Grade Officer of the Year. Bohl serves full-time as an operations officer for the Bismarck-based 68th Troop Command. He previously was assigned as the officer-in-charge and executive officer for the 164th Engineer Battalion in Minot. In his traditional National Guard role, Gall serves as a platoon leader for the Bismarckbased Company A, 1st Battalion, 112th Aviation Regiment and works full-time as the unit’s battalion training officer.
At this year’s NGAUS awards banquet, an outstanding Soldier from the N.D. Army National Guard’s warrant officer ranks also was recognized. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Galen Roness, of Bismarck, was named as the Warrant Officer of the Year for his achievements as the automotive maintenance warrant in the Devils Lake-based 136th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. Roness was recognized for his quality assurance of more than 2,000 hours of maintenance in the battalion without major incidents or accidents. He also supports the N.D. National Guard by serving as an equal opportunity representative and a casualty notification and assistance officer. The Officers of the Year were selected by North Dakota’s National Guard Association of the United States, or NGAUS, chapter, which is a professional organization that North Dakota Guard members may choose to join. The 2015 Airmen of the Year, who were named during a March 5 banquet in Fargo, North Dakota, were recognized again. Airman First Class James Muhs was named Outstanding Airman of the Year. Master Sgt. Justin Mattson was named Outstanding Noncommissioned Officer of the Year
and Master Sgt. Kent Kraiter was named Outstanding Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. The North Dakota Army National Guard winners of last August’s Best Warrior Competition (BWC) also received trophies for their achievements. Staff Sgt. Michael Tavis, of Mandan, North Dakota, a member of the Grand Forks-based 1st Battalion, 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, was the winner of the state-level Best Warrior Competition in the noncommissioned officer category. In the enlisted-level competition, Sgt. Colin Dunn, of Hettinger, North Dakota, a member of the Dickinson-based 816th Engineer Company (Horizontal), took top honors. Should the winners of the BWC not be able to compete, the runners-up from this year’s competition will take their place during the regional competition. This year, Sgt. Jordan Gehlhar, of Lauderdale, Minnesota, with the Jamestown-based 817th Engineer Company (Sapper), was the runner-up in the noncommissioned officer category. Spc. Tara Loomer, of Wahpeton, North Dakota, with the Bismarck-based 814th Medical Company (Area Support), took the runnerup position at the enlisted level. Photo by Airman 1st Class Jacob Oliversen, 119th Wing
North Dakota American Legion Department Commander Harold Goldsmith presents an American Legion certificate of recognition to N.D. Army National Guard field grade officer of the year Maj. Steven Bohl, of the 68th Troop Command, March 19 at the recognition banquet held in Fargo.
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Chaplains’ Corner:
SoundOff!
The Gift of Motherhood
By Chaplain (Lt. Col.) James Cheney, 119th Wing Why did God make mothers? Well, for perspective, here are some responses provided by second grade school children about how and why God made moms: Why did God make mothers? “To help us out of there when we were getting born.” What ingredients are mothers made of? “God makes mothers out of clouds; and angel hair; and everything nice in the world; and one dab of ‘mean.’” What’s the difference between moms and dads? “Moms work at work, and work at home; and dads just go to work at work.” What’s special about your Mom? “My mom can work magic; she makes me feel better without pills or medicine.” Just as a branch growing out of a grapevine replicates the structure of the overall plant and relies on it for life, so we grow out of the nature of God; and when pruned by the vinedresser we take the shape of the Divine Nature. In a very real sense, offspring, families, communities, organizations, workplace relationships, etc., have repetitive
patterns. We recognize such re-echoing patterning when we say that a child is “a chip off the old block,’”or that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” The way we become productive and real persons in this world is the way that we mirror the beauty and the love of the personally human and the personally divine, which in turn, mirrors and reflects the results of our personal networking and the actual expenditures of life lived out in interpersonal relationships through deeds. How incredibly applicable all this is to the influence and love of a mother on her children, and children in reference to their mother! How much of our ability to love depends so very much on where, and from whom, we learned about love and life initially — in the arms of, at the feet of, and around the table of a mother’s love. Following this Mother’s Day, let us be mindful of Cardinal Mindszentry’s exhortation on the gift of motherhood: “The most important person … on earth is mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral — a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body. The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God’s creative miracle to bring new saints to heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the creator than any other creature. God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation. What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this: to be a Mother!” God bless all our moms.
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Photo by Sgt. Erin Walters, 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Sgt. Nathan Griffin, of the Mayville-based Detachment 1, 191st Military Police Company, operates an armored security vehicle April 23 at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Fargo during convoy operations, as part of a training exercise.